The Institute of Social Architecture in the Subject Area of Modern Russian Politics: Risks and Threats

The article is devoted to the consideration of the perception of the concept of “social architecture” and the institute of social architecture as a potential public innovation in the expert environment. The article aims to describe the possible priority tasks of social architects in relation to the specifics of Russian society, to outline the scope of their competencies, as well as to analyze the models of the social architecture institution proposed by young experts in political science and conflict studies. The authors pay considerable attention to analyzing the potential risks and threats that may emerge during the implementation of the social architecture institution, among these are the risk of technocratic reductionism in social space and the excessive instrumentalization of humanitarian knowledge. The primary social threats associated with introducing this institution stem, on one hand, from a misinterpretation of social architects’ role in society and, on the other, from distortions in the social architecture model at the implementation stage. Such distortions could fuel societal atomization by prioritizing local interests over collective ones, as well as diminish the agency of citizens and social groups, ultimately triggering a crisis of trust in both the new institution and governing authorities as a whole.